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Ghost in the Machine
In Ghost in the Machine, an ancient spirit trapped under an abandoned oil mine is awakened when the site is reopened. Pieces of the ghost ends up possessing vehicles all over New York City. Cast Campucho Eduardo Rivera Roland Jackson Janine Melnitz Slimer Garrett Miller Oil Mine Ghost Remnants Kylie Griffin Steve Rifkin Egon Spengler Jeremy the Driver Equipment Ecto-1 Roland's Mustang Particle Thrower Proton Cannister Proton Pack P.K.E. Meter Proton Pistol Trap Containment Unit Locations Hudson River Oil Refinery Firehouse Battery Park New York City Department of Motor Vehicles Holland Tunnel Plot An oil refinery pumped out crude oil into the night. One crewman was excited at the abundant amount of oil they were finding. Another didn't get why the field was abandoned for when it was still ripe with crude. Something weird started happening. A reading of 200 degrees came off the crude and the equipment went on the fritz. The workers all ran away. An entity peered out from a vat of crude oil. Ecto-1 zig-zagged across the lanes of traffic. Eduardo was driving and Roland was in the passenger seat. Eduardo almost went head-onto a truck but swerved away. Roland exclaimed they were on a one way street. He grabbed the wheel and pulled Ecto-1 over to the side of the road. Roland asked Eduardo if he was serious about learning how to drive correctly. Eduardo surmised he was since Egon wanted him to have a license to drive Ecto-1 around. Roland hinted at a faint chance Eduardo could pass the test if he practiced rally hard and listened. Eduardo was optimistic and revealed his test was in the afternoon. Back at the refinery, a tanker truck loaded up on gas. One trucker thought he felt the ground shaking and heard a weird noise. The other just kept reading his newspaper. At the Firehouse, Janine was mixing up cookie dough in the kitchen. Slimer flew in with a chef's hat on and asked if he could help. Janine allowed him to mix while she checked on her first batch in the oven. Slimer turned on the mixer and spun around, landing on the wall by the refrigerator. Janine brought the tray of cookies out. Garrett was attracted by the aroma of oatmeal and raisin. Janine found her guinea pig. She told Garrett she decided to start up a side business - "Janine's Pralines and Miscellaneous Baked Good Dreams." Garrett and Slimer each tried a cookie. Garrett declared it was the worst thing he ever tasted. Slimer spit his out into the trash. Janine tried one and asked Slimer where he got the sugar he handed her. Slimer retrieved the sack. It was labeled "Salt." Slimer looked inside then sneezed all over Janine and Garrett. A man pulled up to a gas station and filled up. He thought he heard one of the tanks growl at him. He saw nothing and mused he needed to get some sleep. After he drove off, the car transformed into a monster and ejected the man into an alley. The man lay stunned in some garbage. Back at the Firehouse, Garrett fiddled with a thrower at the dining table while Kylie read something. Eduardo and Roland came up the stairs and joined them. Garrett inquired about the driving lesson to which Eduardo replied Roland said it was some driving he never saw before. Janine put down a new tray of cookies, this time with sugar. They all took one of the Praline Patties and gave Janine positive responses. Once she left to bake more, they all spit there cookies out and rushed over to the water jug. Garrett took a cup first. Slimer ate up all the cookies then rushed into the water jug itself. Eduardo looked at his slime-filled cup in disgust. Janine answered the phone. It was a trucker that just arrived in New York. He reported seeing some weird stuff. Janine welcomed him to the city. The trucker clarified and reported the cars around him weren't normal and seemed possessed. Janine took the case then asked him if truck stops sold cookies. Ecto-1 departed the Firehouse. Kylie informed the team there were demon cars in the downtown area. Eduardo offered to drive but Roland declined the offer. He compared Eduardo's driving as worse than Janine's cooking. A police officer sighted a possessed bus and reported it as an out of control bus two blocks north of Battery Park. As the bus drove into the park, civilians ran out of its way. Kylie detected strong emanations from the park. They armed their throwers and watched as the bus barreled through a statue. They blasted it but the bus turned and emitted carbon monoxide at them. They ran for it and dodged the bus. Once the coast was clear, Garrett spotted a possessed plane coming after them. They opened fire but the propeller was dispersing the Proton Streams. They ran away and leaped to the ground just in time. It only managed to nail Garrett's wheelchair. They blasted the plane from the side and watched as it crashed into a billboard sign then landed near them on the street. Janine got another phone call. She handed over mixing duties to Slimer and ordered him not to taste anything. Janine answered and offered a free batch of cookies with every referral but Egon kindly took the phone away just as Ecto-1 pulled in. Kylie got everyone to start brainstorming a link between the bus and plane. Egon agreed with Roland's gas idea. He just off the phone with a crew foreman at the Hudson River Oil Refinery in New Jersey. The foreman reported problems with the equipment - odd noises, explosions and weird apparitions. Eduardo wasn't buying that a ghost would haunt an oil rig. Egon ran a search for historical records. He discovered the original owners of the oil field adjacent to the refinery abandoned the site over 30 years ago. It turned out the workers refused to continue operations because they believed the rig was haunted. The wells and adjoining refinery were shut down. They were recently reopened again. Garrett concluded the money was too good to pass up on. Janine realized Slimer disobeyed and ate the cookie dough mix. Garrett was eager to check out the refinery before Janine could bake more cookies for them. The Ghostbusters arrived at the refinery and saw firefighters in mid-battle. They approached a worker and asked what happened. He said the whole thing went off like a firecracker. He worked on rigs for 20 years and never saw anything like it. He believed something was trying to drive them away. Kylie took some P.K.E. readings. On the way back to New York, Kylie informed Egon the whole area was brimming with P.K.E. activity but she was unable to locate the source. Egon theorized a demon got trapped in the ooze millions of years ago. Roland realized it slept until 30 years ago when the refinery disturbed him. Garrett was surprised the demon even liked it down there in the muck. Egon believed it didn't mind and settled there. Egon suddenly got down and hid as Janine called out from the stairs. She had another tray of cookies. Slimer floated near Egon. They both advised each other to stay quiet. The refinery was destroyed but the team still had the demonized gasoline to worry about. A possessed motorcycle drove by Garrett's window. He got his thrower and blasted it. Roland drove Ecto into it, shattering it to pieces. Kylie proposed Janine run a search on gas stations that received the tainted gas. Roland announced Ecto was running empty on fuel. They pulled over to a station. Just as Roland was about to start pumping gas, Kylie stopped him and ran her P.K.E. Meter just to be safe. She got no readings. Roland pumped gas and went to look under the hood in the meantime. A possessed pump switched out the other one and inserted tainted gas. It switched back the other pump before Roland walked back. Eduardo reminded everyone about his road test. They waited on the side while Eduardo met his test marshal. He wrote more notes down after Eduardo told him Ecto used to be a hearse. While out on the road, Ecto bucked like a horse. The marshal instructed him to release the emergency brake. Eduardo thought he did and reached over. A claw grabbed his arm. Ecto-1 transformed into a demonic vehicle and took them for a wild ride. They zoomed past Kylie, Garrett, and Roland. With all the equipment in the car, they needed replacements and a new set of wheels. They ran over to the DMV Test Area and posed as marshals. Jeremy was surprised to get three testers but listened to them and took off. Roland radioed Eduardo and told him to wait it out until they got some new equipment. The marshal screamed for his life. Eduardo interrupted and asked how he was doing so far. The others arrived at the Firehouse. Egon and Janine were waiting with two Proton Packs. Egon informed them there were reports coming in about dozens of demon vehicles heading for the Holland Tunnel to go back to the refinery. Janine handed Garrett more cookies in case they got hungry. Jeremy asked what was happening next. Garrett admitted they weren't test marshals but were bakers and gave him the cookies. They departed in the Mustang and followed the demon vehicles through the Holland Tunnel. The marshal tried in vain to open the passenger door. The Ghostbusters arrived and set off to search for the central locus of the demon's power. Suddenly, an oil spout rose up. It drew ecto energy from the vehicles into itself, leaving the vehicles back in normal condition. The demon revealed itself and was getting stronger with more energy it absorbed. It was reassembling itself. Ecto-1 returned to normal. The marshal and Eduardo exited. The demon lashed out at the refinery and spilled oil on the team. They opened fire on him but nothing happened. The demon's viscous exterior protected it from the Proton Streams. The demon spit a glob of oil at them. Garrett got stuck on the oil but Roland wheeled him away in time to avoid another glob. They hid from the demon and regrouped. Roland spotted barrels of liquid detergent and came up with a plan to shoot the stuff on the demon, punching a hole for the Proton Streams. They sucked detergent into their cannisters then faced the demon once more. The detergent did its job and washed nearly half of the oil away. The team switched out to new cannisters and fired on the demon. Kylie trapped it and the smoke near it. The marshal came out from his hiding place and realized they just saved New York and New Jersey. Eduardo asked if that meant he passed. The marshal stated he failed. Eduardo blamed the possession but the marshal insisted all drivers should be prepared for anything then walked away. Roland proposed they send a batch of Praline Patties to the marshal when they return to the city. Everyone agreed. Quotes Trivia *There are two known drafts.Cuden, Steve (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters "Ghost in the Machine" (Final Draft April 15, 1997) (Script Title page). **First draft: April 8, 1997 **Final draft: April 15, 1997 *Eduardo attempts and fails to get his Driver's License in this episode. Roland and Kylie remain the only two Extreme Ghostbusters of the four who can legally drive.Eduardo Rivera (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters- Ghost in the Machine (1997) (DVD ts. 02:17-02:19). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Eduardo says: "Egon wants me to have a license so I can drive the Ecto-1." *When Janine presents her oatmeal raisin cookies to Garrett, she refers to Mrs. Fields and Famous Amos, two snack food companies.Janine Melnitz (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters- Ghost in the Machine (1997) (DVD ts. 03:43-03:46). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Janine says: "Do Mrs. Fields and Famous Amos have anything on me?" *Janine's bad cooking was last visited in The Real Ghostbusters episode "Camping it Up" *The possessed bus in Battery Pack rams into the statue of John Ericsson, an influential mechanical engineer who designed the USS Monitor warship. *Ecto-1 is possessed yet again. It was possessed many times on The Real Ghostbusters such as in "Killerwatt" and "Follow That Hearse" *Garrett refers to Janine as "Julia Vile," a play on famous celebrity chef Julia Child.Garrett Miller (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters- Ghost in the Machine (1997) (DVD ts. 10:13-10:19). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Garrett says: "Hey guys, lets go check out that refinery before Julia Vile whips up anymore snackages of death." *Garrett gets in a joke about New Jersey, which were more prevalent on The Real Ghostbusters. *When Egon rationalizes Campucho's preference for its surroundings, Kylie makes a jab at Eduardo's Place.Cuden, Steve (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters "Ghost in the Machine" (Final Draft April 15, 1997) (Script p. 20). Kylie says: "Sounds like you're describing Eduardo's apartment."Kylie Griffin (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters - "Ghost in the Machine" (1997) (DVD ts. 11:34-11:37). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Kylie says: "Sounds like you're describing Eduardo's apartment." External Links *Spook Central has a PDF file of the final draft of "Ghost in the Machine" References Gallery Episode Screen Caps GhostInTheMachine01.jpg GhostInTheMachine02.jpg GhostInTheMachine03.jpg GhostInTheMachine04.jpg GhostInTheMachine05.jpg GhostInTheMachine06.jpg GhostInTheMachine07.jpg GhostInTheMachine08.jpg GhostInTheMachine09.jpg GhostInTheMachine10.jpg GhostInTheMachine11.jpg GhostInTheMachine12.jpg GhostInTheMachine13.jpg GhostInTheMachine14.jpg GhostInTheMachine15.jpg GhostInTheMachine16.jpg GhostInTheMachine17.jpg GhostInTheMachine18.jpg GhostInTheMachine19.jpg GhostInTheMachine20.jpg Collages and Edits OilMineGhostRemnantsinGhostintheMachineepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' GhostbustersinGhostintheMachineepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' HudsonRiverOilRefineryinGhostintheMachineepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' OilMineGhostinGhostintheMachineepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' Category:EGB Episode